Match Day an R{-x} for exciting future in medicine

Friday

Mar 19, 2010 at 6:00 AMMar 19, 2010 at 10:16 AM

By Aaron Nicodemus TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Despite being half a world away in Argentina, fourth-year University of Massachusetts Medical School students Rachel Androphy and Christine Larose couldn't wait to find out where they would begin their career as doctors. Via a phone connection, they linked to a laptop held by relatives for Match Day at the medical school so they wouldn't miss the big day.

Match Day is when fourth-year medical students across the country find out in which hospital residency program they will serve for the next three or four years. Matches are made via computer by the National Resident Matching Program in Washington, D.C., and kept a secret until Match Day.

“It's better getting (the news) face to face,” Ms. Larose, of Groton, told a reporter via the laptop's connection from Argentina where she and Ms. Androphy are studying Spanish. “We wanted to be part of the excitement even though we're so far away.” Ms. Androphy's envelope was accepted by her sister, Meara, who wore hospital scrubs with a taped sign that proclaimed her as her sister's stand-in.

Ms. Androphy's match letter said she will be serving her residency at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester and, after a year, head to the NYU School of Medicine to study anesthesiology. Ms. Larose will serve her residency in the obstetrics and gynecology department at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

In past years, UMass tradition dictated that medical students come up one by one, take their envelope and drop a dollar into a box. The last student to receive their envelope wins the box of dollars. Traditionally, the student spends the money at a party for fellow medical students held later in the evening.

This year, there was a break in tradition. Instead of opening their envelopes one at a time, the 101 members of the school's class of 2010 decided to wait until everyone received their envelope. The resulting simultaneous ripping of envelopes created an eruption of screams, cheers and hugs.

More than half the medical students in the class of 2010 will serve their residencies in Massachusetts, making it much more likely they will stay in the commonwealth for their careers, said Mai-Lan Rogoff, associate dean for student affairs at UMass Medical School. Part of the mission of the state's medical school is to build a pool of homegrown talent, as well as encouraging new doctors to enter primary care, as opposed to pursuing a potentially more lucrative career as a specialist.

Dr. Rogoff, who acts as a master of ceremonies and hands out the envelopes, said Match Day is bigger than graduation for most medical students.

“This is the moment when they find out where they're going,” she said. “There is a palpable excitement in the room.”

Medical student Marie King of Spencer said Match Day is special for a number of reasons.

“Today is the first day where it all becomes real,” she said. “We are finally getting the chance to do the stuff we've been training to do.”

She said she was happy to find out that she will be staying home, serving her residency in the emergency department of UMass Memorial Medical Center.

“My match means I'll get to treat people in my own community,” she said.

James Young has spent his last eight years at UMass Medical School, becoming a medical doctor as well as earning a Ph.D. He's been pursuing research into the connection between obesity and diabetes, finding that fat cells produce inflammation in the body that exacerbates diabetes.

“It's been a time of tremendous growth,” said Mr. Young, who will work as a resident in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “We're developing who we want to be when we grow up.”

UMass has grown astronomically in his eight years at the school, he said.

“Since I started here, the school has built two research facilities and broken ground on a third,” he said.

Asked about his plans after his residency, he replied, “I don't think I'll be too far away from my UMass family.”